1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are cases in which user operation is assisted by displaying screens showing such things as a replacement procedure of a toner cartridge in an image forming apparatus, or the like, or a maintenance processing procedure for replacement of a component of the image forming apparatus, or the like, onto a control panel of the image forming apparatus. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H08-069223, in a case where a copying machine paper jam (jam) is detected, a processing procedure for handling the jam is displayed on a control panel as an animation. With this, even a user who is unfamiliar with the operation of the copying machine can easy fix the jam. This kind of display of operation procedures is not limited to jam processing, and may also be used for other operation guidance (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H08-123259).
Also, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H08-069223, the animation that shows the operation procedure is displayed in operation reproduction units in accordance with operation steps such as “door opening guidance” and “reversing path guidance”. Upon detection of a jam or running out the toner, an animation of appropriate reproduction units is put together in accordance with the state of the device for which the detection was made and reproduced. In such a case, after the display of each reproduction unit of an animation, display of the next reproduction unit of the animation is started by the user by operation of a next key. When the next key is pressed after display of the final reproduction unit of the animation, the first reproduction unit of the animation is once again displayed. Alternatively, each reproduction unit is consecutively displayed by automatic operation of the next key (when the display of a reproduction unit completes, display of the next reproduction unit starts automatically), and after display of the final reproduction unit, the first reproduction unit is once again displayed automatically.
In general, circumstances of detection of a state of a device do not necessarily change immediately in accordance with user operation or processing on the device. For example, in a case where toner runs out, an out of toner state is not cancelled immediately when the user replaces the toner bottle. After the user replaces the toner bottle, a supply operation supplying toner from the toner bottle is started when a main unit cover for toner replacement is closed. When the toner is then supplied, the toner is detected and the out of toner state is cancelled. Similarly, in a case where a jam is detected, the jam is not cancelled just by the user removing a sheet that is the cause of the jam. After the user removes the sheet, and closes the main unit cover, a conveyance motor is rotationally driven, a remaining paper check is executed, and only when it is detected that there is no remaining paper is the jam cancelled.
This means that in the above described conventional technique explanation, in a state in which after the final reproduction unit is displayed, display of the first reproduction unit is returned to (a state in which guidance looped once), there are cases in which inconsistencies arise between the displayed reproduction unit and the actual state of the device. After replacement of the toner bottle, for example, because a display sequence of the reproduction units is not updated by the replacement alone, when the first reproduction unit is returned to and displayed, again the reproduction unit showing an initial procedure for replacing the toner bottle is displayed. This can lead to confusion of the user.
Also, in a case where the next reproduction unit is displayed due to a user operation such as a pressing of the next key, there are cases where the user does not notice the operation for progressing to the next reproduction unit (does not notice the existence of the next key). When the toner bottle is replaced, for example, there is the possibility that the user, expecting that transition to the display of the next operation procedure will happen automatically, becomes confused when the displayed content does not change, even though the toner bottle has been replaced.
Meanwhile, in a case where the display transitions to the first reproduction unit automatically after the final reproduction unit is displayed, there are cases when the display content change between the final reproduction unit display and the first reproduction unit display feels unnatural. For example, operations such as replacement of toner bottles and jam processing begin with an operation of opening the main unit cover and end with an operation of closing the cover. Particularly in a case where this is displayed in an animation having few frames, after a final “cover closing” operation procedure is displayed, the start is returned to and a “cover opening” operation procedure is displayed. So, because the animations instructing “cover closing” and “cover opening” are repeatedly displayed in a state in which the main unit cover is open, there is the possibility that the user will be confused about the operation.